Prof (PhD) Rob Wust

Prof Rob Wust is an assistant professor at the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam in the Netherlands and since 2024 acts as the head of the Physiology section. He obtained a double-doctorate on muscle physiology, studying exercise intolerance and fatigue. He later investigated the control of mitochondrial respiration during exercise. Prof Wust then worked on various projects related to cardiac metabolism and mitochondrial function. Together with his colleagues he is currently implementing a large study on understanding fatigue in patients with Long COVID and ME/CFS, with a particular focus on exercise capacity in this patient population. His "Explaining skeletal muscle-related symptoms in patients with ME/CFS: from skeletal muscle to exercise immunology (MuscleME)" basic research project is funded as part of large nationwide research programme on ME/CFS. Prof Wust is also the principal investigator of the "Muscle microclots and microvascular pathology in ME/CFS" study and the "Skeletal Muscle Structure and Function in Relation to Post-exertional Malaise in Patients With PASC and ME/CFS" clinical trial. He is also working on the development of new techniques assessing fundamental mitochondrial function in skeletal and cardiac muscle an on the effects of inflammation on cardiac and skeletal muscle function.